Comic-Con gets hands on PlayStation 4

Sony comes out swinging with new system and variety of demos

Sony is providing the first hands-on demos of their upcoming gaming console, the PlayStation 4, at this year’s Comic-Con.

The company’s mentality seems to be an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” model. Everything from the continuing sleek, economic design to the sequential title suggests a deliberate continuation rather than a revolution. But that’s not a bad thing.

Many of Sony’s improvements are subtle ones. The controller is in many ways very similar to previous iterations, but it’s their best one yet. The less a controller feels like the hunk of plastic it is, the better. Anyhow, the new controller feels great. The flimsy PS3 thumb sticks have been replaced with something much more comfortable and natural. The R2 and L2 shoulder buttons have a natural curvature that works wonders.

Some new controller features include a cool (simply cosmetic) blue light, a “share” button that will allow players to share content with their friends instantly and a subtle touch pad on the controller face that will supposedly make motion controls much easier to execute.

Sony’s demos stand out with a couple of unique entries. There’s “Knack,” a colorful action game starring a robot that can absorb the environment around it. What starts as a small machine can turn into a giant rock monster or a pillar of ice. The players control this shape-shifting robot as they smash their way through beautifully detailed environments. The game shows the graphics potential of the PS3 with stunning water effects and stands as perhaps the closest a game has come to replicating a cartoon.

Another standout demo is the extraordinarily bizarre “Octodad,” a hilarious game made by Young Horses, an independent developer based in Chicago. According to Kevin Zuhn, a designer on the game, it started out as a college project that quickly developed into something more long term. Sony got wind of the project and reached out to the developers to market it for the PS4. The game’s protagonist is a very strange octopus who, in the demo, is getting ready for his wedding. The catch is he’s getting married to a human woman, and nobody knows he’s an octopus. As he prepares for the wedding, players control the octopus with realistic physics-based controls that make moving around the environment difficult. Everything from grabbing a tie to opening a door is difficult when you’re an octopus, apparently. The controls take a lot of getting used to, but the absurd premise and the physics engine make for a one-of-a-kind experience.

Sony is a company that is very aware of its strengths and will be playing to those strengths for this next console generation. Even when the hardware feels so familiar, it's great to know Sony is still ready to provide experiences gamers can’t find anywhere else. It’s no wonder preorders are sold out.